15% Production Gain by Leading Truss Manufacturer

New V-Series drop-on-demand inkjet advances production and delivers savings.

Stone Truss turned to Matthews Marking Systems for a lumber printing solution used for their trusses and other products. They wanted a system to help increase their board-feet production while saving man-hours.

Summary

Stone Truss has been the manufacturer of choice for wood roof trusses and wood floor trusses for over 30 years. Combining decades of experience with precision truss design, cutting, and manufacturing, the Stone Truss team provides expertly crafted truss systems for practically any construction project.

Stone Truss replaced their legacy system with Matthews’ V-Series Drop-On-Demand Inkjet Solution to boost their production and reallocate labor.

As a result, the operation was able to achieve:

  • 15% increase in production
  • 5-month ROI
  • Improved OEE

The Challenge

Stone Truss had a critical need to improve the amount of board-feet they produce each day. Unfortunately, their legacy system created two major challenges; illegible marks and lost man-hours.

Illegible marks.

Stone Truss needed a solution that clearly marked each piece of lumber (single cut webs, double cut webs, step cut webs, off centerline parts, regular bottom chords) coming from their saws. Their legacy system would simply stop working, and when it did work, the marks were so faint they couldn’t be read by the builders.

“We were having clogging issues with the ink. And then when we would get it to work, we couldn’t really read it. We were still writing because it was so faint.” – Blake Hunsaker, Operations Manager at Stone Truss

Lost man-hours.

Builders faced daily challenges when assembling the various components for different trusses being built. Too many man-hours were spent hand-writing details on pieces cut from the saws and this slowed overall production. This manual process restricted the efficiency of the builders assembling trusses as they had to search for pieces needed at each stage. It also meant the automated saws were not being fully utilized, driving Stone Truss’s overall equipment efficiency (OEE) down.

“Well, we needed to increase our production, our saws were falling a little bit behind our builders. We needed a lot more production.” – Blake Hunsaker

The Solution

Stone Truss took advantage of a much more efficient and cost-effective option from Matthews Marking Systems. Matthews’ V-Series Drop-on-Demand inkjet printers with MPERIA controllers ticked all the boxes on Blake’s list.

A complete system engineered for challenging environments. 

The Matthews system is a complete solution, including printheads, MPERIA controllers, and ink supply units. And the V-Series features the longest lasting printheads in the industry with over 9 billion firings per head, perfectly suited for Stone Truss’ production line saws.

For their operation, Stone Truss paired a V-Series 7-valve mini nozzle printhead with a V-Link module, an MPERIA controller, and a low-pressure ink supply unit. This setup was mirrored on their second production line.

“We selected Matthews because they came out and looked at what we do first to see how they can make it work for us. That’s why we chose them.” – Blake Hunsaker

Crisp marks and labor savings. 

The V-Series printheads print easily readable marks on all the lumber Stone Truss runs through their saws. Ideal for both large character and small character, low-resolution marking, the V-Series had a significant impact on Stone Truss’ productivity.

“Well, I mean, it’s night and day to be honest with you. And sometimes we get rain here. And when wood is wet, it’s harder to read on the old system. On this system, it doesn’t even make a difference to us. We see it clearly.” – Blake Hunsaker

The positive impact on productivity led to reallocated man-hours, improving margins.

“We’re a production company and we have to increase our production for margins. That’s our main goal, I can save two employees because I don’t have to have a tail-off guy, only one guy to run the saw.” – Blake Hunsaker

 

The Results

Matthews’ VIAjet V-Series inkjet solution solved Stone Truss’ productivity issue immediately after installation.

Far more efficient. 

The prints from the VIAjet DOD printers make it easy for the builders to identify the pieces needed for assembling trusses, no more searching for the right piece because of handwriting issues.

Big impact on margins.

The reallocation of labor hours and efficiency gains enabled by installing the V-Series means a short return on the investment.

“Going by board-footage and the men that we’re saving compared to what we paid I think five months it pays for itself.” – Blake Hunsaker

Ready to grow. 

The success of the entire solution on both of their production lines has Blake and the folks at Stone Truss eying the future for growth.

“Well if we ever increase I certainly will go with the same exact system because it’s been perfect for us. For the way we work around here it’s just been dynamite for us.” – Blake Hunsaker

About Stone Truss:

Founded in 1986, Stone Truss has been committed to customer’s total satisfaction in custom designed and engineered wooden roof trusses for commercial, residential, and remodel markets.